For those of you who are suffering from “morning sickness” like me (ahem, it’s really any time of day), you are totally not alone and there is hope! While I haven’t been able to figure out how to make it go away, I have come up with a few tricks to at least make it a bit more manageable. Here are my top 6 must-haves:

1. Bone Broth

It’s no secret that I’m totally obsessed with bone broth, but I didn’t know how essential it’d be throughout my pregnancy! During times when my nausea would flare up and I couldn’t even look at food, bone broth provided a nourishing, nutrient-rich alternative I could get down with.

My go-to during the first trimester has been Five Way Foods chicken broth, since there’s something about chicken broth that’s healing for the soul. My favorite way to enjoy it is just as is in a big ol’ coffee mug, which makes me feel all hip and cool since I’m not drinking coffee during my pregnancy, … Read More!

Good morning babes! As you probably know by now, I am pregnant and we’re expecting our first baby late August. The end of this week, I’ll officially be out of the first trimester (hooray) so I wanted to fill you in on all the ups and downs thus far.

While I’m trying to be present and appreciate every moment of this pregnancy, I’m not gonna lie — the first couple months were rough. From nightly vomiting and food aversions to extreme fatigue and sore breasts, I’ve pretty much hit the jackpot with all your typical pregnancy symptoms.

While I’ve spent many nights balling my eyes out in misery, sucking on mints to ease the throat burn and wondering how I’m going to get through this, knowing our rainbow baby is waiting for us at the end makes it all worth it.

Today on the blog, I’m sharing an inside look at the first trimester — the good, the bad and the ugly!

Cravings

During my first trimester, food was one of the last things on my mind due to the pretty intense nausea I had! However, there … Read More!

Good morning ladies, and Happy Friday! Thank you so much for the love on my pregnancy announcement — the messages coming through via email and social media have touched me deeply and I’ve been so emotional this week (in a good way).

Moving on to this week’s feature on Healthy Chicks in the Community, a weekly series highlighting rockstar girl bosses doing their thang in the wellness industry! As you know, I’m a huge fan of functional medicine — that is a more holistic way of looking at health by helping patients get to the root cause. That’s why I couldn’t be more thrilled to feature Certified Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (say that five times fast) Kristin Thomas of Thrive by Food. I love her Whole Foods based philosophy, knowing that good health begins with a healthy gut.

Heads up: She offers several juicy free guides and is currently offering 50% off her 4-week Restore Your Gut Program through 2/28, which if you ask me is a total steal! Alrighty, I’ll let Kristin take over from here as she’s got lots of golden nuggets of wisdom to share with you.

Happy Valentine’s Day loves! My heart is literally exploding with love right now, as hubby and I are officially 12 weeks pregnant with baby arriving late August. Today on the blog, I wanted to share my journey with you, including the ups & downs, and how we found out we were pregnant. (Spoiler: it was a big surprise!)

Many of you know I had an early miscarriage in July, and the whole trying to conceive journey did not come easy for us. It wasn’t “hard” either, but it took us about a year to get pregnant, including a loss along the way. I will say that going through the hardship of loss and learning to trust in my body more deeply than ever before has made me appreciate this little growing rainbow babe in ways I can’t express. The amount of gratitude I feel right now in this very moment is indescribable (morning all-day sickness and all).

Winter is in full force, and if you’re like me it’s a time for reflection, slowing down and finding stillness i.e. hibernation mode. With the darkness, we’re able to find peace within. Winter brings themes of inner connection, contemplation and working on our spiritual selves.

Our seasonal self-care challenge starts up again February 12th (just in time for Valentine’s Day) and you are so in for a treat. Think: cooking with Mother Nature’s produce like brussels sprouts, beets and winter squash, an overdose of self-love, and all the feel-good exercises and meditations your little heart desires!

Happy 2018, friends! I’ve been hanging low these past two weeks in hibernation mode, as my focus this month is slowing down, meditation and nourishment. As someone who likes to get sh*t done, it’s been a valuable lesson in patience and listening to my body.

As you approach the New Year, I encourage you to take a step back and think about how it is you want to feel. Say goodbye to New Year’s resolutions, and get real with what it is you truly want to manifest for yourself this year. How do you want to show up in the world? How do you want to express yourself creatively? What kind of people do you want to connect with? After all, your vibe attracts your tribe.

Speaking of tribe, I love surrounding myself with soulful woman who aren’t afraid to show up in the world as they are! I’m overjoyed to feature the lovely Holly Bellebuono for this week’s Healthy Chicks in the Community, a weekly series highlighting rockstar woman doing their thang in the wellness world.

I especially adore Holly’s concept of “womanifesting” your business, that is thinking about how we women unleash our creativity and … Read More!

It seems as though right now every fitness and wellness company is pushing detoxes, 6-packs and losing holiday weight gain for the New Year. Um, no thanks. I’m so not a fan of the fear-mongering marketing that makes women feel like they need to lose weight to feel good in their bodies.

Also, why do we have to wait until 2018 to “start fresh,” anyway?

How about feeling good in our bodies right now?

Like, today.

As you know by now, I’m not a fan of dieting at all. In fact, I coach women on how to ditch dieting and discover joy around food and have an e-program coming soon on this very topic. Here’s a hint: it’s 90% mindset.

So, where does that leave us? I think we need to re-think the way we “detox” and instead focus on gently cleansing our body through self-care and foods that nourish our body. Instead of thinking of what you need to take out (deprivation), let’s think about what we can add in. Check out some of my favorite things to ante up your cleanse the feel-good way!

Unfortunately, cheese and gluten don’t really sit well with me anymore, so I’ve been having a blast re-creating my childhood favorites my way. But one thing I’ll never compromise on is the flavor, and I agree — some things just aren’t meant to be gluten free (like homemade bread and brownies).

Fortunately, I was able to give mom’s Chicken Divan a little makeover without compromising on the creamy goodness I always loved. This recipe skips the cheese and canned Cream of Chicken Soup, and replaces is with a homemade creamy concoction made with almond milk, chicken broth, gluten free flour and seasonings.

The best part? It takes just 20 minutes to prep, and then you can pop it in the oven and forget about it!

Tis the season of cocktail parties, holiday gatherings and all the comfort food! During this time, it’s quite common to feel like you’re “screwing up your diet” and “being bad” by indulging a little bit more than you’re used to.

Last week after Thanksgiving, I overheard a woman ordering her green juice. She was coming from the gym, and said “I was so bad this weekend. I need to start eating healthy again!”

Sound familiar? I hear you. But if you truly want to feel better after a weekend of indulging, punishing yourself is not the answer.

It’s time to ditch the labeling.

You know what I mean…

“I was so bad this weekend, so I need to eat good.”

“I ate super clean today and had a kale salad so I can cheat and eat a brownie for dessert.”

“I’m being such a fatty today!”

“I need to go on a diet.”

“I’ll start fresh in the new year.”

“That’s good/bad/healthy/unhealthy/clean/dirty/detox-friend/fatty.”

Sound familiar? This type of thinking does more harm then good, and in fact instills fear i.e. If I eat bad, I am bad. But here’s the thing: food is 100% neutral, so we must take all the … Read More!

Cold weather calls for cozy meals on the regular. Hubby and I have been enjoying lots of scratch-made recipes at home lately — from casseroles to soups. This easy 20-minute Chicken Pad Thai is perfect for evenings you’re craving authentic Thai food, but it’s too cold to leave the house.

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Hi, I'm Rachel! I show women how to nourish their mind, body + soul so they can ditch dieting and depriving and start LIVING a life full of bliss. I believe that every woman should have the joy of living a glass-is-half-full, passionate, guilt-free life, and that you absolutely can too!